I think this is one of his finest and more mature novels, in fact his best novel and my favourite. The themes are fascinating, I remember very well his description of himself as a young man getting drunk at a party, slurring his words in front of Agnes and waking up the next day hung over, that part felt very contemporary. The goodness and strength of character from his auntie and also nurse left a strong impression on me and the way that final shipwreck is described was some of his most powerful writing I think. There's a stronger sense of realism and the way some of the child characters return as adults and the way the different plot strands become interwoven following a the childhood section is wonderful. Steerforth is also a great character who works really well for a modern reader. Most guys I think can remember a popular boy at school who all the others idealised and were blind to any faults. Also the description of a controlling abusive partner slowly bullying and scaring his new partner into submission is as relevant in 2023 as 1850. The character of Emily is also handled more sympathetically than would be the norm in the 1800s.

While Great Expectations, or Tale of Two Cities are likely better novels, my favorite Dickens novel will always be David Copperfield, I think because as a reader you become so emotionally invested in David's journey. It is one of those books you almost feel a sense of sadness when you've finished it, having to close the cover to those wonderful characters.

@katiejlumsden

5 жыл бұрын

I love David Copperfield too. Such a great and lovely book.

@Tolstoy111

Жыл бұрын

ATOTC is one of his worst novels! Lol. Dickensians really dislike it

@_Peremalfait

Жыл бұрын

@@Tolstoy111 I have to disagree with both assertions, assuming "Dickensians" refers to admirers of his work. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" is one of the most well known openings in literature. The novel is full of memorable characters, such as Madam Defarge, and Dickens's superb use of symbolism. At the same time it was quite innovative, especially the "time passes" chapter and description of the masks.

@Tolstoy111

Жыл бұрын

@@_Peremalfait Dickensians is Dickens scholars. ATOTC reads like it was written by some other writer. It's completely humorless. Even Dickens at his most serious is still funny (Bleak House, Great Expectations).

@_Peremalfait

Жыл бұрын

@@Tolstoy111 To be sure, Tale of Two Cities is different than his other novels. Dicken's himself described it as an experiment.

I loved the whole Peggotty family. They were wonderful people.

@katiejlumsden

4 жыл бұрын

Me too!

Your pronounced excitement and liveliness about classical literature happen to be so charming, lovely and even contagious. We need more people in the discourse of literature like you. Thank you :)

@katiejlumsden

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

I love this novel. My favorite characters are Steerforth and Rosa Dartle. Steerforth's friendship with David and the ultimate betrayal is so tragically powerfully portrayed and Dickens himself confessed that he cried when reading about Steerforth, his own creation. Rosa Dartle is probably the greatest woman character he ever created. She is cruel, vindictive and bitter, but ultimately her torment is so unbelievably human one cannot help feeling sorry for her.

@katiejlumsden

7 жыл бұрын

Agreed! Rosa Dartle is such a fascinating character and the David and Steerforth relationship is so well done.

I read David Copperfield for the first time when I was nine years old and I loved it since page one. Now I reread it five times. My favourite character are Steerforth, Rosa Dartle and Uriah Heep, who is in my opinion the most well-made character in the entire english literature. Dickens created a lot of greates personalities, in his books secondary characters are more interesting than protagonists. Sorry if I made some mistakes, I'm italian and I'm 14 years old. I really do appreciate your work.

@katiejlumsden

6 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you love it - it's such a great book :)

@appujosephjose6129

4 жыл бұрын

You are one smart Italian

@aclark903

3 жыл бұрын

Time you read some #Shakespeare young man.

Yes the 1999 adaptation is excellent.

I read and consequentially fell in love with this book exactly a year ago. I wanted to refresh my memory so I found this video. Great job!

@katiejlumsden

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

You are absolutely brilliant! Thanks very much indeed for this really effective overview on David Copperfield.

@katiejlumsden

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Bizarrely, I actually have a more up to date review of David Copperfield after I reread it last Autumn: kzread.info/dash/bejne/kXdn17dsdsabiLQ.html

After I finished this novel I immediately read it over again. I thought it was magnificent. Of all the great characters, the brilliantly complex, utterly devastating portrait of Steerforth may be the finest. I actually adored the portrait of Dora. What I found so marvelously surprising was that she was so aware of her child-woman personality. I loved that. Agnes, however, was, for me, the one weak character in this phenomenal book. She was overly idealized and, finally, somewhat flat and less than fully human.

I'm 11 years old , and i'm reading David Copperfield. it is my all time favourite novel! So far i am half through the book , and of course i am really enjoying it!

@katiejlumsden

6 жыл бұрын

I'm glad to hear you're really enjoying it :)

@romypanda9947

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks , A bit too much...

'Barkis is Willin' '😥 this is my favorite Dickens novel... 😊🥰 my mom recommended this

This is the best summary of the novel I have ever heard 👍

@katiejlumsden

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

I know my older brother loved this book, so I really want to read this soon. I might have to add it to my kindle and read it while I'm away in March. Another lovely video! :)

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+ElizabethAnneBooks Thank you! I do really recommend it - it's a lovely and enjoyable read. :)

As someone who loves Dickens myself, I really appreciate your passion for this material. David Copperfield is one of my favorite books of all time and certainly my favorite Dicken's novel. I think SO much of the writing is pure genius. I actually think the first person narrative helps make this book distinct from most other great novels. Reading it, you realize there are certain advantages to the first person narrative. For one, you get to spend so much time in David's head that even though he is mostly a passive spectator of events you still totally get him. There is never any confusion or mystery as to how David feels, and that is actually an important foundation because the side characters are so complex and mysterious. It helps to have that familiar voice relating everything. Agnes Wickfield is my favorite female character in literature, even though, she isn't in the book that much. I am probably in the minority that I wish there was more of her and Traddles, who eventually are the ones that are there for David, and less of some side characters like Mr. McCawber. I like Mr. McCawber, but his parts get a little tedious. I also find the whole Dr. and Annie Strong plot thread pretty much a waste of time other than how it reflects on Agnes and David. I still remember the elation I felt when near the end of the book David finally started realizing what we all knew from the first time Agnes was introduced, that she was the perfect partner for him and secretly loved him the whole time. Certainly one of my favorite endings in literature.

@katiejlumsden

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much! I love David Copperfield so much. I wish there was a lot more of Traddles too - I've reread the book since I made this video and I now have a theory, about that first line of the book, about whether or not David will be the hero of his own life - that Traddles is actually the hero of his life. He's a more typical heroic character than David in some ways.

I love you enthusiasm for the book.🌸

@katiejlumsden

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks :)

Watching her talk and her facial expression is Hypnotic

I am currently listening to David Copperfield’s audiobook narrated by Richard Armitage. His varieties of voice and pitch has captured Dickens’ story vividly and interestingly. Can’t help but imagining it to be a reading session together with our beloved Mr Thornton 🥰 Thank you for sharing the information about the audiobook!

@katiejlumsden

5 жыл бұрын

So glad you're enjoying it - I love that audiobook!

I really want to watch that adaptation now! And read the book of course! If I haven't completely messed up then I believe I only have your top three left to enjoy, which I will leave for another time. Fantastic series!

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+A Hermit's Progress It's a lovely book, and a brilliant adaptation. Maggie Smith is just glorious. As always.

Dora”s father was right David was not an ideal suitor. Dora was brought up to have everything sorted for her. David did not have the means to arrange that for her.

Below is an entry from my commonplace book, which I've kept for over thirty-five years. I recall a Dickens binge which was inspired by a reading of 'Dickens: the Two Scrooges', a chapter in Edmund Wilson's 'The Wound and the Bow: Seven Studies in Literature.' The entry is from the book CHARLES DICKENS: HIS TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH by Edgar Johnson": "Few novelists have ever captured more poignantly the feeling of childhood, the brightness and magic and terror of the world as seen through the eyes of a child and colored by his dawning emotions. Dickens renders all the vividness and flavor of those early days when the grass is unbelievably green and fruit "riper and richer than fruit has been since" . . . And, following on these, come the widening though still confused horizons of adolescence and its endeavors to grasp the world, the problems of embarking upon a career, the tremulous silliness and ecstasy of youthful love." Well said. What he was describing of course was David Copperfield. "No other boy has known exactly the same circumstances as David Copperfield, and yet all childhood is there."

So... my mom read this out loud to me and my siblings when I was like... six years old? And I don't remember much, but I loved watching that adaptation when I was in grad school. I had an embroidery project for a costuming class which took 97 hours, and I ended up watching a lot of BBC adaptations of classic novels. I loved this version. I started listening to an audio book of this one last year, but I was a little frustrated by how slowly it was moving (and also a little annoyed by the reader) so I put it back on the shelf for now, but I look forward to reading it in the future. :)

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+BooksandQuestions I love that adaptation so much :) And I love rereading Dickens on audiobook, but as his novels sometimes take quite a few chapters to get going, I think audiobooks, being slower, can be problematic for reading Dickens. But it really is a great book, and I hope you enjoy it some time in the future :)

Even though I have never read the book, I have watched the BBC adaptation that you showed many many times. I really love Betsy Trottwood as a character! I think she is quite a complex character who has many fascists. She has a strong sense of right and wrong ( the scene when Mr merdston and "his instrument", I love that line, arrives to discuss David's future and she gives them a price of her mind.) And then she can be very accepting of people too and look at their assets rather than their flaws. ( the scene when David is complaining about Dora and Betsy tells David to accept Dora for who she is.) Betsy can be harsh but she doesn't suffer fools she has been hurt and humiliated in the past and that experience has allowed her to grow strong, independent and wise! Thank-you for these videos I am enjoying them immensely!

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+Sarah Hall Thank you :) And yes, Betsy Trotwood is a brilliant character, both harsh and caring and sensible and just great!

you speak as fast as I read the book in my head lol

I love your edition of David Copperfield. My own edition is like trying to carry a very large cinder block around. It's been on my shelf for a long time and I've been trying to read it. I'm just rather intimidated by the size. I also really like your little tea pot. It's the same colors and pattern as my book-money piggy bank.

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+Eliza King Thank you! It's great to have a nice smaller edition. And David Copperfield is a great book, one I highly recommend despite the size!

yet another one that I love the mini series of but haven't actually read. You do raise a good point about the fall of little Emily and how she's made to look like a very complicated character along with Steerforth. I think he definitely is more complicated than Willoughby or Mr Wickham. I think though unfortunately the whole romance with Dora and then Agnes being his second choice and then getting together doesn't quite settle with me right. It just seems like a weird romance to have, as opposed to Isabella and John in our mutual friend - that's a romance that I really like!

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+Kate Howe Agreed - I think I need to reread David Copperfield to work out my feelings on that! **Spoiler warning for Our Mutual Friend for people who haven't read it or seen the TV series** And agreed - although when you take a moment to reflect on Bella and John, their love is a build odd/build on deception a tad as well... However I still love them! The scene where he's dismissed from the Boffins and declares his love for her, just beautiful

Just finished this. I haven't read all his work but my love for Dickens might have surpassed my love for Orwell and Shakespeare. 😩😂 This was my ninth Dickens.

David Copperfield might be my favourite! It’s like the Goldfinch (You liked that one right? :P) It’s got so many good feels and yummy sentimentality at the end. Oh my gosh - the feels!!

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+Jakob Tanner Ha yes, there are a few crossovers in the kind of growing up narrative, although I'd say Theo has more in common with Pip from Great Expectations than David Copperfield :P

This video makes me so excited to read David Copperfield because I realize that I have completely forgotten most of the story from the adaptation (I have only read 50 pages of the book and haven't seen the film since college) but I remember loving that adaptation! Bob Hoskins made me immediately love Mr. Macawber and I loved little Daniel Radcliffe and little David Copperfield but aside from that I remember nothing lol. When I was young, I found a DC quote on a business card that read : Mr Macawber to David Copperfield- "Income-£20, Expenses-£21, result-misery, income-£20, expenses-£19, result-happiness", and I have kept it in my wallet ever since (only now I am afraid I've lost it somewhere). Okay now that we are in the last week I want to guess the order of the rest (I may be way off lol)- next is Old Curiosity Shop, then Tale of Two Cities, then Little Dorrit, then Bleak House, then Great Expectations, then Our Mutual Friend...excited to see if I am anywhere close.

@CarolynsReadingRamblings

8 жыл бұрын

okay I am changing my order (plus I forgot Dombey and Son lol). okay- next Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, then Old Curiosity Shop, Little Dorrit, Bleak House, Dombey and Son, and Our Mutual Friend. (I may have cheated slightly by watching your original Dickens video :))

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+BBCgirl520 Pretty good guesses - you're not spot on but very close! And yes, I love that quote of Mr Macawber - he's such a great character!

@CarolynsReadingRamblings

8 жыл бұрын

+Books and Things very interested to see the differences. and this is so coincidental I almost don't believe it was a coincidence but I was going through my vhs tapes and found a recorded tape of that adaptation of David Copperfield that I didn't even realize I had! I think my granddad must have taped it for me years ago! I think I need to cave and watch it now instead of after the book.

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

It's a great adaptation, really really brilliant :)

This is a wonderful video on the only Dickens I have ever read; although, I am going to remedy that in my reading life! During my secondary education in the latter 70s, I learned from a much loved educator that David Copperfield was Dickens' most autobiographical novel. In support of this premise, my teacher pointed out that David Copperfield's initials are a juxtaposition of Dickens' own initials. How would you recommend I read Dickens? Chronologically? If chronologically, I find The Pickwick Papers a stumbling block to my reading.

@katiejlumsden

7 жыл бұрын

Nah, not chronologically. I like the Pickwick Papers but it's very episodically, very different from other Dickens book. It was actually the last one I read. I usually recommend David Copperfield or Great Expectations as a good place to start, then maybe Little Dorrit, Dombey & Son or Our Mutual Friend.

@JosephQuinton

7 жыл бұрын

Thank you, kindly!

I think David Copperfield will be my first read Dickens novel. Not because it's Dickens favourites or Jacob's but because it was a favourite of Tolstoy's. Thanks Gilmore Girls for teaching me something. Sorry I haven't commented on your Dickens videos, it would have been a lot of "I need to read this" type quotes but I'm enjoying the series

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+Knowledge Lost Ha yes, and there are a lot of videos! It's interesting to know that David Copperfield was Tolstoy's favourite. I'll certainly be interesting to hear your thoughts on it when you get round to it :)

@KnowledgelostOrgOnline

8 жыл бұрын

+Books and Things the way you describe the book sounds very much like the way Tolstoy writes.

I love how you're almost gleeful about this

@katiejlumsden

5 жыл бұрын

Ha thank you :)

Bleak House for me, read it twice

There are a number of great characters in David Copperfield and the characters, like Mrs Betty Trotwood and Uriah Heep, are main reason why I enjoyed the novel. That said, I found Dora to be painful and just a little too ditzy. The plot to me is a little weak in the second half of the novel. Who David ended up with was flagged very early on. I agree that David Copperfield being in the first person seems to make it a less interesting read as there are less plot lines. However, with Great Expectations, whilst in the first person, the plot was quite gripping with expectation(!). We share Pip's surprise at the end.

daisy ♡

What are the editions of the shorter but beautiful editions you read out of? I'm jealous and want them on my shelves.

@katiejlumsden

7 жыл бұрын

They're called the Collector's Library editions.

I think the circumstance of the adult looking back and narrating his childhood life can be attached to GE too. At times young Pip has the voice and thoughts of an adult. Is Mr Micawber another version of Dickens's father? Sounds like it. I was thoroughly surprised that you recommended this to people who are new to Dickens; don't you think the length might be off-putting? I guess GE is tomorrow? :p Thank you for the videos.

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+IAmBroke Nope, Great Expectations is a couple of days off :P I don't think the length of David Copperfield is or should put anyone off - in my opinion, some of his shorter books, like Hard Times especially, are less good places to start, and David Copperfield is an easier read than many other Dickens books. And yes, Mr Micawber is supposedly another version of Dickens's father.

Which publisher of those editions? There are several with that name.

@katiejlumsden

7 жыл бұрын

It used to be CRW publishing; I think they're been bought by Pan Macmillan now.

It's strange how Bleak House is so different from Copperfield. It's like he waited 20 years & then made the greatest novel of all time.

Yeah she is too fast😂

@journeyswithpepa625

4 жыл бұрын

yeah

Where did you get your mug please!!!

@katiejlumsden

3 жыл бұрын

Mostly from a website called the Literary Gift Company.

@keretaman

3 жыл бұрын

@@katiejlumsden yay thank you!!! 🥰 i love ittt

I just finished David Copperfield and being perhaps the 6th Dickens book to have read, I was glad to get through it....First of all, I DO love Dickens. He can evoke feelings like no other and make me laugh out loud, as I did several times reading D Copperfield. However, I read very slowly and found the book to be laborious in so many places and so long. The Micawbers I found to be annoying and honestly I didn’t understand David’s initial hatred of Heep, though later it was certainly understandable. I loved Peggotty and her family (i would love to know such people). I loved the Aunt (her confrontation with Miss Murdstone is great!) And Traddles. It wasn’t my fav of his books but I’d consider another reading in the future. Is there a decent film adaptation that anyone would recommend?

@katiejlumsden

5 жыл бұрын

The TV adaptation from the 1990s, with Daniel Radcliffe as young David Copperfield is very good. Would certainly recommend that.

Dora and Davd's relation and marrige is a subtle imitaion of Clara and Murdstone marriage, David subconsilly pushed Dora to be more serious and resposible!

If you're looking for someone who speaks slowly, she is probably not your girl!

less caffeine if you please ;)

Play Speed 0.75x

I found Dora so annoying. I felt like David basically just married his mother. Dora didn’t want to grow up though like why would you want your husband to think of you as a child-wife

@ryanimpink13

4 жыл бұрын

I so agree!

@katiejlumsden

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I adore the novel, but Dora I sometimes struggle with.

OMG It was great just that you speak so fast hahhahaha

You speak very fast!

She speaks at a rate 😅

oohh fuck you speak so rocking quick 😅😂😂👌 nice tho

CD'd be cryin' in his crying towel if he thought his fav DC would be ranked below OCS or even TTC. For the remaining novels, here's a sketchy summary that I found on the net. OCS usu ranked low TTC mixed reviews D&S usu ranked high middle or middle LD high or high middle, mostly the latter BH Usually 1st to 4th, with a rare dissenter OMF Either first or ~7th. Some ain't keen on the plot. GE Often proscribed to 15 yr olds who mostly don't like it. Very mixed reviews. Academics prefer mature CD, whereas some readers prefer earlier stuff, coincidences & all. Lots of 2edary students & former students have a jaded view of GE. Academia is keen on BH, OMF, GE, & LD is rising in estimation. DC is considered a bildungsroman that is inferior to its fellow, GE. I can see why various scholars put any of GE, BH or OMF first.

@katiejlumsden

8 жыл бұрын

+TimeAndChance Ha yes, I suppose Dickens would be shocked. I prefer Great Expectations as a bildungsroman, and in general I do prefer Dickens's later works (The Old Curosity Shop will be the only book in the second week of What the Dickens? from the first half of his career.)

you need to slow down a bit, and explain a little more the synopsis of the book....

Mr Murdstone might be the most horrible villain in all of Dickens' works. At least Quilp seemed to be having a bit of fun and had at least a sardonic kind of humour. Murdstone though is just this grim, humourless, cruel, relentless bully.

Why you talk this fast

You need to slow down your speach. Waaaaaay to fast!

@mrxracing7

3 жыл бұрын

Just slow the video down

slow down a bit please, hearing you telling these stories with such passion is great, but you risk to result annoying if you keep this pace. oh and by the way I'm italian and I gotta say I'm very thankful to you cause you're really helping me preparing a huge English Literature exam lol

@katiejlumsden

5 жыл бұрын

This video is nearly three years old now. I talk a bit slower in my more recent videos!

Just wanna suggest one thing...please speak little slower for we from the east side Asia couldn't get all of what you say ... Language barrier.. ✌😄

Lol. you talk so fast

you are speaking too fast